What’s new or changing?
- The Office of Local Government (OLG) is evaluating the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Act 2021 and the Public Spaces (Unattended Property) Regulation 2022 (PSUP laws) to assess:
- the effectiveness of the laws in meeting their objectives
- the effectiveness of the implementation of the new laws.
What will this mean for council?
- Councils, other public land managers, industry stakeholders and members of the public are invited to provide feedback on the questions posed in the evaluation survey by Friday, 13 June 2025.
- Feedback received will be considered by OLG to inform the identification of short-term or longer-term improvements or additions to tools, activities, or regulation needed to improve operation of the PSUP laws.
Key points
- The PSUP laws commenced on 1 November 2022 to help keep our public places safe, accessible, and enjoyable for communities in NSW, now and into the future.
- The laws place the responsibility on property owners to collect items such as bikes, trolleys, vehicles, and animals left in public spaces.
- Councils and other authorities have the power to take a risk-based approach to move or remove unattended property from public spaces, direct owners to collect their property, and issue fines.
- After 2 years of implementing the laws, it’s important to ensure that unattended property can be appropriately dealt with to keep public spaces safe and enjoyable.
- OLG is seeking feedback from community, operators, councils and other public land management authorities to evaluate the effectiveness of the PSUP laws since they commenced.
- The evaluation will carefully consider where the laws are working well, any key concerns with the laws, and what measures may be taken to support effective implementation into the future.
- Key issues such as timeframes and definitions in the laws, powers available to authorities and their use, and the nature and impact of offences and penalties, will be addressed.
- Outcomes of the evaluation will include identification of short-term or longer-term improvements or additions to tools, activities, or regulation needed to improve operation of the PSUP laws.
Where to go for further information
Erica van den Honert
Executive Director, Sector Delivery
Office of Local Government
